A page of the Vienna Genesis, made in sixth century Syria, with an illustration of Jacob/Israel blessing his grandsons Ephraim and Mannasseh.

An icon of God creating light, in the form of the stars in the sky, on the fourth day of the Genesis creation story.

The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament and contains extremely old oral and written traditions of the people of Israel. The English title, Genesis, comes from the Greek translation (Septuagint, LXX)[1] meaning "origins"; whereas, the Hebrew title is derived from the opening sentence of the book, translated "in the beginning". Tradition has it that this book was mostly written by the ProphetMoses[2] 1,300 years before Christ. The influence of Genesis over all of Holy Scripture is demonstrated by it being quoted over 35 times in the New Testament and hundreds of allusions appearing in both Testaments. The story line of salvation begins in Genesis 3 and is not completed until Revelation 21 and 22, where the eternal kingdom of redeemed believers is illustrated.

Contents

Authorship and writing

The author does not identify himself in Genesis. However, both the Old Testament[3] and the New Testament[4] ascribe this composition to Moses[5] even though the context of the story ends almost three centuries before Moses he is even born. No compelling reasons have ever come forth to challenge this authorship.

Genesis was written after the Exodus (ca. 1445 B.C.) of the Israelite people, but before the death of Moses (ca. 1405 B.C.).

Background

Genesis begins with the story of the creation of the world, the fall of Adam and Eve and the subsequent, quite sinful, history of the children of Adam. It tells of Noah and the great flood, the tower of Babel, and Abram and Melchizedek.

It then tells of God's call and promise of salvation to Abraham, and the story of Isaac and Jacob, whom God named Israel, ending with the settlement of the twelve tribes of Israel (the families of the twelve sons of Jacob) in Egypt, during the time of Joseph's favor with the Egyptian Pharaoh. In traditional Church language, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are called the Patriarchs and are also Forefathers of Christ.

Major Theme

This is the book of "beginnings". It is widely accepted [6], that it contains many historical and theological themes revealed by God Himself.

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Purpose and Interpretation

Genesis is not treated as mere history, but as a source of spiritual wisdom, a book inspired by God himself. Out of all historical information available to Moses, he selected only what was related to the religious life of people. It most likely has been edited for this goal over time.

Outline

See also, Genesis (Outline) for a more comprehensive article on the literary structure of this book.

By Content

By content this book is comprised of two sections; the first records four major events and the second four great ment:

Liturgical readings

At Vespers before the Nativity of the Theotokos, the reading is from 28:10-17, the story of Jacob's vision of a ladder which unites heaven and earth. This passage indicates the union of God with men which is realized most fully and perfectly, both spiritually and physically, in Mary the Theotokos, Bearer of God.

References

↑LXX Septuagint—an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek